CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman County Board of Education (CCBOE) recently received a $19,400 donation from the Stephen K. Griffith Memorial Fund to support students’ mental health needs. The generous donation comes just days before the sixth anniversary of Griffith’s passing in July 2017.
The fund was established in June 2018 to honor the memory of the beloved husband, father, grandfather, longtime attorney and dear friend to many. Through the SKG Fund, the Griffith family hopes to raise mental health awareness and fill the gap in services available within the community, especially among those with little or no financial means to access mental health services.
The donated funds will enable students to receive school-based mental health therapy for the upcoming year during school for crisis situations and/or mental health concerns with little or no cost to the families of Cullman County Schools. The emphasis is on improving student mental health, student and family safety concerns, and to reduce crisis situations.
This is the second time the SKG Fund has generously donated to the students and families of Cullman County Schools. In February 2022, it generously donated $10,000 to expand mental health services within the school system. To date, the school system has partnered with various agencies to provide students and families with much-needed assistance in the way of individual therapy and family support.
Unfortunately, over the past few years, Cullman County Schools, like all school systems in the state, has seen an ever-increasing need for student and family mental health services. The substantial need of mental health care has greatly reduced the number of available appointments for new patients and extended the wait time for families to be seen in the office, and all of that is dependent on insurance availability and the ability of the family to pay for mental health services. It is the goal of Cullman County Schools to ensure that all students have not only the best educational experience, but also receive the essential care needed to treat a mental health crisis, and the funding from the SKG Fund makes this possible.
